Considerations for the Texas Summer Months
As August barrels down upon us, Austin begins to dry out in the oven of Texas summer. Lack of rainfall was not an issue earlier in the year, trees and lawns have been looking great so far compared to previous years.
It may be though that the rain has passed us by for a bit and we’ll need to keep an eye out for water stress in our trees and shrubs.
Austin residents are likely to have sprinkler systems throughout their yard, and it is often the case that we depend on such irrigation systems to maintain not just our grass, but our trees as well.
This is a mistaken assumption and here’s why:
1. The water is only soaking the top inch of soil.
Most lawn irrigation systems have been optimized for grass management but with no consideration for established trees. Check the time duration on your system for each zone, if it is for less than 20 minutes then it is unlikely to be getting saturation to the deeper roots of your trees.
2. There may not even be a discharge head covering the root zone of your tree.
This is less common in smaller yards but can happen regardless. Check the coverage of your system in relation to the dripline of the tree canopy.
3. Soaker heads on direct watering systems may be plugged or turned off.
This is the first thing to check if you know your system has worked well in the past yet now your tree is looking sad. As with any tree that is struggling, if you are ever unsure of the cause, have an experienced Arborist look at your tree for a firm diagnosis.
“Everything checks out, yet the tree still looks wilted.”
This is also seen sometimes and the most common culprit we see is counterintuitive.
4. Check for Overwatering.
Believe it or not, overwatering can have the same symptoms as drought. With the exception of tree species that thrive in swamps, most trees that sit in a mire will begin to rot from the bottom up. One of the first signs people notice is a wilted, drought-stricken appearance to the leaves. Most of the time, folks make the problem worse by increasing the watering schedule under a false impression of what the problem is. Partial excavation of the soil may be needed to determine the moisture level under a tree. If the tree in question is in a low laying area or a zone with poor drainage, be sure to check before applying more water.
Some final thoughts.
We here at Good Guys Tree Service are committed to helping Austin’s trees in any way we can. If you have a tree that may have a health issue, give us a call and schedule an appointment with one of our experienced staff. Sometimes water stress can be the trigger that starts a chain of misfortunes which can lead to the loss of a tree. If caught early though, a surprising number of treatments are available to mitigate such a loss.
